A recent discussion at the McKinney Diner has me thinking and evaluating my thoughts on the roll my child's school district should play in their lives. Now I'm not talking about teachers, coaches, sponsors, etc.; I'm focusing on the district and its governing body as a whole.

The discussion at the Diner centered around random drug testing (not what his post was about, but ya know how that goes), and, at first, I struggled with the argument against the testing, but then I got to thinking about how it could play out. For instance, right now the testing applies to only those involved in extra-curricular activites, but it probably won't be long before it includes the whole student body, after all the point is not really student-protection, but deterring those who don't partake and catching those who do. I mean, smoking pot while on the chess team isn't putting anyone but yourself in danger.

Take it further along, and now the police are pulling over random motorists for testing...might seem a bit extreme, but it could happen. As it stands right now, police must suspect a driver is under the influence. In other words, the driver must be exhibiting behaviors indicative of drug/alcohol use. I'm not saying driving under the influence isn't reprehensible, but here's the thing....there is a reason police aren't allowed to just pull us over randomly and without cause.

Here's another interesting case....

Keller student faces discipline for posting 'To Die' list on Facebook

I get it....I do. Would I be concerned if my child's name was on the list? Yes, I would! Would I be concerned if my child was the one who wrote the list? Definitely! But this is not an issue for the school district to deal with, this is a parenting issue. The kid likely wrote the list off campus while not representing his school, therefore the school has no business disciplining him for the list. Yeah, it's scary and the kid probably should talk to someone about his feelings, but allowing the district to discipline him opens some doors I'd rather stay shut. Parenting my children is my responsibility not the school districts.

What about parents who don't parent? Well, I've been thinking on that one too. What if instead of telling my kids to stay away from the "bad" kids, I instead encouraged them seek out opportunities to befriend them. What if I opened my doors to these kids whose parents choose to, or life circumstances have caused to, slack in their responsibilities. Yes, I want to protect my children from negative influences, but we are to be light and light shines brightest in darkness. I'm not saying you allow any and all forms of darkness in and we do need to teach our children to be wise in choosing their closet friends. Still, there's a statistic a friend of mine shared a couple weeks ago that keeps rolling around in my head....95% of Christians have never shared their faith with a non-believer. Well, how can you if you only surround yourself with other Christians! I am totally guilty of this...of not seeking out the non-believers around me....of hiding in my little holy huddle and wanting my children to do the same.

Just some thoughts.....